


Jaded Hearts

by KainashiDangelo



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician), Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-27
Updated: 2014-02-12
Packaged: 2018-01-10 05:40:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1155766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KainashiDangelo/pseuds/KainashiDangelo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes dreams are things to be left in the dust of the past. Kurt Hummel understands this, after living in New York City for over five years, scraping a life together by stripping at night. Without his dreams, without his family, will Kurt ever find a new dream, or will he always be alone?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Elphaba_Fiyerobert](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elphaba_Fiyerobert/gifts).



> This is for Elphaba_Fiyerobert, for being an inspiration.

The lights in the club flashed, nearly blinding the young man dancing on the stage as he pulled the shirt from his shoulders. When he first started dancing, the flashing would have disoriented him, but now, after doing this for more months than he'd like to think about, Kurt Hummel no longer even paid attention. He just did his sets, pulled off his clothing for the patrons of the dive called the Gilded Cage.  


And honestly, Kurt felt like he was in a cage with no way out. He remembers when he first came to the city, after his father died from a second, worse heart attack. He had been a senior, four months to graduation, when it happened. They pulled him out of class to tell him his father had been rushed to the hospital. Oh, he could have stayed and finished school in Lima, but between the memories, the abuse from those in McKinley, and the bills from his father's hospital stay, it was easier to sell the garage and move on. He'd given Carole half of what was left over after the hospital was paid, before packing his things into a couple of suitcases, and leaving without a backward glance.  


A wolf whistle from the crowd drew Kurt back to the present as he pasted a fake smile on, and shimmied out of the final piece of clothing. He's done this enough that he can really do this on autopilot, really. Which is probably a good thing, since he doesn't think he could survive any other way. The money wasn't even all that great, since the house took sixty percent of his tips, it was a good thing this wasn't his only means of support, Mentally shaking his head, he pulled himself together and finished his set, before slinking off the stage.  


Two hours later, after collecting his meager wages, Kurt pushed his way out of the Cage and headed towards his apartment. Hole in the wall, would be kinder. Glancing at his watch, he noticed that it was just after one in the morning. Groaning under his breath, Kurt hurries off home. He has to be up in less than five hours for his day job. While he hurried down the street, he couldn't help thinking about all his shattered dreams. How he wanted to live in New York, and perform on stage. Ha! At least part of his dreams came true. He was in New York, and he performed on a stage, just not the Broadway stage like he wanted. He can't even remember the last time he sang.  


Unlocking the door to his building, Kurt quietly crept up the stairs, trying to be mindful of the neighbors. It wasn't the best of neighborhoods, but the residents did try to keep it clean and friendly inside the building, looking towards each other as their own extended families. The fact that most of them were immigrant families might have had something to do with it, but Kurt doesn't know, and honestly, he just enjoys some human contact that doesn't involve him stripping his clothes off. With that thought, Kurt opened his door, and slipped inside, before closing the door quietly behind himself.


	2. Chapter one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future isn't /completely/ bleak..

The next morning, Kurt stepped out of his bedroom already dressed for the day in a pair of comfortable jeans and a tee-shirt covered in grease and paint. He made his way towards the tiny kitchen for his coffee before he left for work, a lop-sided smile on his lips as he thought about how it would have killed him to dress in jeans picked up from Cost Co rather than designer clothes, or even clothes he designed himself.  


He owed a lot to Coach Sue for coming through for him. Somehow, she had made it possible for him to complete his education on-line. He wasn't going to ask. The truth was, after moving to the city, most of the money he got from his Dad's garage went to getting this apartment and continuing his certification in mechanics that he had started to take in Ohio with his father. He had realized that while his range was very wide, very few roles would ever come his way, thanks to how high his voice was. As much as he liked to sing, he knew he just couldn't make it on his own. Now that he didn't have his father, his friends.  


Kurt let out a sigh, and finished his coffee. He rinsed out his cup, grabbed his lunch from the fridge, and headed out the door. As he was locking it, his elderly neighbor came up the stairs with her small black terrier. Kurt smiled brightly and bent down to pet Buddy. "Good morning, Buddy! And you too, Mrs. Kaminski. You're both out early this morning!"  


Mrs. Kaminski was pushing eighty, and had lived in the same apartment for several decades with her husband before he had passed away. And yet, her brown eyes still danced with joy at the simple task of walking her four legged companion. She smiled back at her young neighbor and mentally shook her head. The poor boy worked much too hard. "Oh my, yes, Kurt. Buddy had to do his business, and then got distracted by everything else, like normal."  


The two talked for a few minutes, before Kurt glanced at his watch. "Yikes! I better run, Mrs. K! I need to catch the Q into Manhattan so I can get to work on time! Lenny gets a little crotchety when I'm late, though I don't know why! He knows I'll always stay over if I needed to. Silly man." He shared a grin with the older lady before running down the stairs with a backward wave.  


As Kurt stepped outside the brick building, he felt the spring air ruffle his chestnut colored hair and absently brushed his bangs back out of his face. Another change in the past five years was that he stopped using so much product in his hair while he wasn't on stage. For one, it just cost too much, and for another, it could get dangerous around the shop. He now understood what his father had been trying to tell him all those years ago.  


He breathed in the cool air and gave a bittersweet smile. No, it wasn't what he dreamed of when he was a simple teenager. And honestly, he didn't mind the dancing itself. It was all the lecherous men who wanted their hands on him that gave him the creeps at times. Oh, every once in a while he'd see someone he thought was cute, but they all wanted the same thing. A quick screw and nothing more. Even after all this time, Kurt still held onto the wish for love. 'Someone to love me for me wouldn't be so bad would it?' he thought to himself as he walked the two blocks toward the subway station.  


Lenny Gallo owned and managed Gallo Garage. It had been in his family since they immigrated to the city from Italia in the early nineteen hundreds. He was in his mid-thirties, slightly balding, and had a little bit of a paunch from eating too much of his wife, Lydia's cooking. He hadn't been sure about hiring such a young kid like Kurt, but he had put him to the test while Lydia had been in the garage, having brought him his lunch. He told the kid that if he could find the problem with the '89 Caravan in dock three before he was finished with his lunch, he had a job. He, of course, knew that the catalytic converter was shot, but he wanted to see if the kid could spot it.  


So he had left Kurt in dock three, having sent the other two mechanics off to their lunch, and headed into the office. He spent a half hour with Lydia, occasionally looking out into the garage to make sure the kid didn't one, hurt himself (because honestly, he looked like a strong wind would carry him off!), and two, to make sure he didn't steal anything. He liked to think the best of everyone, but come on! This is New York! Finally, Lydia rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and sent him into the garage, before she gathered up the dishes. She kissed him goodbye and swept off.  


Lenny wandered back into the dock with Kurt, and felt a little disappointed when he noticed the kid was half under the hood of the minivan, rather than under it. "So, didja find anything, kid?" he asked, surprised as Kurt didn't jump at his voice. In fact, Kurt kept working at what he was doing for a second, before he pulled out, a streak of grease across his smooth left cheek.  
"Yes, sir. Where should I start?" A chestnut brow arched delicately as a small smirk played across his lips. Lenny blinked and tilted his head. His other mechanic, Johnny, had only mention the catalytic converter. Let's see what Johnny missed, Lenny though.  


"Anywhere you want, kiddo."  


"Well," Kurt drawled slowly. "The radiator has a leak, the fuel filter desperately needs to be changed, the spark plugs need to be replaced, and I don't even want to guess at when the oil filter's been changed in this heap. Also, the starter is slipping. Oh, and the catalytic converter is shot." Kurt grinned at the astonished look on Lenny's face. "My father owned his own garage, and I spent most of my life elbows deep in grease." He shrugged as a shadow of sorrow passed his face. "So, yeah, I get cars."  


Lenny was gobsmacked. He didn't even know if Carl, his head mechanic, could have caught all of that in just a half hour. "You're hired, kid! Damn good job. When can you start?" Kurt laughed and shook the older man's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? A little longer, a little deeper into Kurt since high school...


	3. Chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys meet, finally. Sort of?

Kurt was just pulling his head out from under the hook of a white BMW when he heard Lenny yelling his name from the office. Kurt sighed and picked up a rag to wipe the grime off of his slim hands from the engine of the car he just finished. He walked towards the office and plopped down into an old chair on the other side of the desk.

"What's up, old man?" he asked with a grin, ducking the balled up greasy wrapper from a burger. "Don't let Lydia find out you're eating out again, or she'll kill you. Now, what did you need? I just finished with Mrs Kamp's beemer. You'd think someone with that much money could pay for someone to make sure there was oil in the damn thing every now and then. Poor baby was just about the croak."

Lenny laughed at his youngest, and brightest, mechanic. "Yeah, yeah, don't start that up again. The guys still think you're insane when you go off like that. How are ya ever gonna find a nice young man to bring to Sunday dinner with us if you keep scaring them off?" Lenny almost regretted saying anything when Kurt's face instantly drew stoic and his eyes grew cold.

"They're too busy running away from the flaming gay already to even hear me." He shrugged and drew himself to his feet. "What did you want? I need to start on Joey's GMC again before I leave for the Cage."

Lenny growled to himself. He hated that place. He wished he could get the boy out of that place, but even a mechanic's wage made it hard to live in the city. "We got a call from some hoity toity agency. One of their clients is stuck on 50 Street. Do you think you can take the truck and see if you can figure out if there's something really wrong or if the idiots just can't figure out where the key goes? I'd send out one of the others, but you know how they are." 

Kurt rolled his eyes and nodded, taking the keys for the tow truck. John wasn't allowed to drive the tow truck any more because he almost wrecked it shouting out at a pretty girl, and the other two liked to inflate their estimates when dealing with the richer clients. Which was why Kurt had been getting a lot more repeat business. True, at first, his appearance and voice threw some people off, but when they realized he dealt it fair and square, he never had a problem. In fact, lately, he'd had to turn some people away just because he didn't have enough time in the week to do all the basic upkeep. He always made sure to take the serious cases, and passed off the simple ones onto the less experienced mechanics in the shop.

"Yeah, sure. You know you can count on me, Lenny. And stop eating those damn greasy sandwiches." Kurt frowned slightly and looked away from the older Italian, feeling a little awkard. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Len. You and Lydia are the closest thing I have left as a family, and it'd kill me, and her, if anything happened to you. Please remember that when you don't take care of yourself. I wish I could have made my dad realize that." And with that, Kurt rushed out of the office after snatching up the paper with the directions to the call, missing the shocked look on Lenny's face.

Lenny fell back into his chair and stared at the desk in front of him. It's true, he never thought about what all the greasy food he was eating was doing to him, he always brushed off what Lydia said about his diet as normal nagging. But the thought of leaving not only his beautiful wife behind, but that sweet, sweet young man that he had come to think of as a baby brother hurt his heart. He clenched his jaw, and picked up the phone. He dialed a number, then waited until the other line picked up. "Hey, baby.. Do you remember that diet you wanted me to start with you next week? Yeah, let's do it, alright? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It's just something your Kurty said to me that got me to thinking. I'll tell you tonight, alright? Love you too, baby girl."

Kurt turned onto the street the directions from the agency gave, and nearly screamed as his eyes caught the sleek lines of the Aston Martin Vanquish sitting on the side of the road. He clenched his jaw tight as he pulled up behind the black machine he'd die to drive, and climbed from the truck. He barely spared the two passangers a look as he walked around the vehicle before reaching in to pop the hook. "What the fuck, dude? How the hell can you treat anything as beautiful as this so callously??"

Across on the other side of the car, Adam Mitchel Lambert just about swallowed his tongue. At first, when the truck pulled up behind the rental car, he was relieved. He didn't want to spend the rest of one of his days off stuck on the side of the road, to be accosted by who knew what here in New York. Normally, Adam would be the last person to judge another on their looks, but the moment the person stepped from the tow truck, he was surprised. Despite how high his voice was, the mechanic was definitely male, however, it looked like he was barely out of his teens. He looked over at Tommy Joe, his lover and band mate, and could see the way the man's eyes dilated he quite liked what he saw. Adam couldn't blame him. The little package was stunning. And the nasty words falling from those gorgeous lips stunned him. "Goodness, pet, what a mouth!"

Of course, at the sound of that distinct voice, Kurt whipped around and stared at Adam with wide Glasz eyes. Said mouth opened and closed for a moment, before he straightened his shoulders and glared at his idol. "Yeah, well, you're the fucktard that decided to drive an Aston Martin Vanquish without checking the fucking fluids! Did the bad men hurt you, baby?" this last bit was said to the car as Kurt ran a loving hand across the front as he bent further under the hood. 

That was it for poor Tommy. He started snickering with Adam's comment, but he just fell apart at Kurt's cooing at the car. There was no way this pretty thing could be real. A beautiful outside with a stunning mind was rare in their world. Adam's jaw dropped at the boy's comment and turned to glare at Tommy's loud cackling. "I don't know what you're laughing at, idiot. He's calling you one, too!" Tommy just continued on laughing, so Adam sighed and stepped closer to the car and the mechanic who was completely ignoring both men as he worked on what he can reach. "So how bad is it, and will it live?" Adam asked with a small smile. He couldn't help but let his eyes wander across the shapely ass and legs of the mechanic. 

"First off, jerk, eyes off my ass. My face is right here." Kurt stood up and glared at the musician. "You're lucky the car had more sense than you and just decided to stop running. The oil hasn't been changed in what looks to be since it rolled off the sales floor. The radiator is overheated, and there's barely any brake fluid. You're lucky you didn't kill yourself or someone else. As it is, I'm going to have to take it into the shop to even get it running again. Do you need me to drop you off somewhere, or do you want to wait at the shop for someone to come pick you up?"

Before Adam could even say anything, Tommy Joe piped up at his left side. "Oh, we'd love to wait at the shop if you don't mind giving us a ride!" The grin stretched across the blond's face could scare off small children, and Kurt eyed him oddly, before looking back at Adam's long-suffering sigh. "Yes, as Tommy has said, we'll gladly take the offered ride to the shop. Lead on, McDuff." Tommy snorted, and Adam blushed slightly as his theater nerd days shone on. However, he was rewarded with a grin from the mechanic. "I'm Adam, by the way, and the fool over there is Tommy Joe." He ignored the 'Hey!' from Tommy and grinned at the mechanic. "Kurt." was all that was returned. 

Adam was left scratching the back of his head as Kurt turned on his heel and walked back to the tow truck to pull it around the Aston. Kurt backed it up to the black automobile, before climbing back out. He unattached the hook and some chains from the back of the truck, then moved to the front of the Aston. He dropped down on his back and shimmied as far as he could under the machine, to attach the hooks and chains so he could tow the car back. Of course, all this shimmying had the boys groaning quietly, and Adam elbowed Tommy when he noticed the blond have to adjust himself. "What?" he hissed. "Can you blame me?" Adam rolled his eyes and shook his head just as Kurt got back to his feet and walked over to lift the car. 

"Ok, climb into the cab, we're just about done here." Kurt walked back to the driver's side door and leaned in to make sure the flashers were on and it was in neutral. He turned back and climbed back into the tow truck, arching a brow as he noticed that somehow Tommy had manhandled himself into the center seat so that he'd be sitting next to the driver. Kurt buckled up and put the truck in gear. He bit back a sigh, and reached down to shove off the hand from his thigh. "Knock it off." Kurt could barely see Adam rubbing his forehead in disbelief from the corner of his eye even as Tommy grinned and put his hands up. "What?!"


	4. Chapter three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't that interesting....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, a second chapter in the same day, you must all be inspiring me! Thanks again, Sarah. You rock.

Adam groaned. Why did he always let Tommy drag him to the oddest places? His cheeks burned slightly at the knowing look on the bouncer's face as his Kitten drug him inside the seedy club. "Why here, Tommy? This place is such a dive." He tried not to act like a diva, but even he was getting an odd vibe from here. 

Tommy Joe Ratliff laughed and tugged at Adam's arm. "I heard nothing but good things about the last dancer here. The rest of the scenery is pretty much forgettable. At least, the owner at that garage with the hot mechanic that you couldn't take your eyes off of suggested we might like it here."

Adam gaped at Tommy Joe. "You mean, the hot young thing with teeth? The one who nearly eviscerated the both of us for not checking the fluids in a /rental/ car?! The very same hot stud you kept trying to grab? That one, Kitten?" Tommy didn't add anything, but his grin did get naughtier as he wagged his brows at the singer. Adam just laughed and settled into the seat at the bar that wound its way around the stage.

The stage was dark, the crowd milling around, growing antsy with anticipation. Music started, a slow drum beat, and the lights slowly rose, showing a figure in the center of the stage, kneeling. 

Steel to my trembling lips,  
How did the night ever get like this?  
One shot and the whiskey goes down down down  
Bottom of the bottle hits making up my mind as I throw a fit  
The breaking is taking me down down down

As the crowd watched, the dancer lifted a shot glass to his lips, and he tossed it back. He got to his feet, his eyes never once meeting anyone in the crowd as he lost himself to the primal drumbeat. The dancer's clothes are rugged, like the song, ratty jeans, an old plaid shirt that looked about four sizes too big. The shirt tails fly behind him as he dances on bare feet. He owned that stage, as if he were a part of the song itself. 

A few of the patrons are confused for a moment, the alcohol clouding their thinking for the moment, before the dancer allowed the shirt to slip down an arm as he twirled and glided to the beat. Glasz eyes flash as the dancer slides further down the stage, falling to his knees once more before crawling toward the end of the stage. His smooth lips curled into a self-depreciating smirk as the music ground on, about how the singer was always running from his heart. 

His eyes caught on two particular clients at the end of the stage, and they widened slightly, before a brow arched almost challenging at Adam and his companion. As the music picked back up, Kurt drug himself back to his feet, his hands went to the buttons on the ratty jeans, and they slid off his trim hips, leaving him in a pair of barely there thongs. 

He almost stalked towards the curtains at the back of the stage, and yet Adam's breathe caught, he knew the song was not over, it's his after all. His eyes captivated by that perfect ass walking away from him. The mostly naked man pauses at the head of the stage, his head turned back toward the audience. 

The drums pause, and Kurt turned, ran back down the stage. With a leap, Kurt caught the pole at the end and twirls, his legs wrapped around the metal, his back and head arched down toward the stage as he spun around the pole itself. Tommy and Adam both collapse back against their seats as Kurt slid down, coming to rest against the floor once more as the music faded away to nothing once more. Kurt lifted his eyes and caught the two men by surprise, another smirk, this time in amusement, curled those soft looking lips, before the lights cut off completely, and the crowd went wild. When the lights return, the stage is empty once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is, of course, Runnin' by the fabtastic Adam Lambert.
> 
> Sorry it's not longer.. I'll work on it. Please don't kill me!


	5. Chapter four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam comes to the shop with an interesting offer for Kurt, and gets a surprise of his own..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looky here, yet another chapter. Any spelling mistakes are my own, I don't have a beta yet. (And Elphie was sleeping, lol)

Tommy pushed the door to the rental agency open and held it for Adam, shaking his head, his eyes wide. "I can't believe you just dropped a quarter of a million dollars for a car that just broke down yesterday, Adam! What the hell are you thinking?"

Adam smirked slightly as he straightened the black leather trench coat he was wearing over his skin tight jeans and blue silk shirt. "I'm thinking that I'm going to need a talented mechanic to take care of my very expensive new vehicle. Besides, could you imagine the look on Kurt's face when firstly, I had to tell him the car was going back to a neglectful agency, and secondly, the look on that gorgeous face after we tell him I bought it." He waved a hand carelessly as they wandered down the street, heading in the direction of the auto shop. "And if I can talk him into not only coming along as my mechanic, we can always use another dancer. I mean, damn, that boy can move." He arched a brow at the blond, who only shrugged and nodded. 

^*^*^*

Kurt had come into the shop early today, still a little shook up at finding the two men he had been trying to forget show up instead at his second job. He was currently alone in the shop, since it was technically still closed. Lenny had long ago given Kurt a key to let himself in, since the younger man usually would use any excuse to work out any problems he had under the hood of a car. Something about working with his hands soothed him in a way that only singing did. Something that reminded him of his dad without the aching pain in his chest from the loss.

In fact, that was one of the main reasons he worked at the dive. Not because he liked it, but at least it was some kind of connection with music. Any attempt he had made to continue his dream with NYADA died when his dad did. The lack of money, and the lack of anything to really show his talent on paper pretty much killed any application he could put together. 

With another sigh, Kurt tossed his jacket and bag to the side of his work station and walked over to the Aston Martin sitting in his bay. He ran his hand along the side of the black metal, his eyes closing slightly as he hummed to himself. Once upon a time, he could have seen himself owning a car like this, before everything went to shit in Lima. Before losing his Dad. With a smile, he patted the front of the machine. "Let's get to work, eh, baby? I'll get you up and purring in no time. Maybe then the stupid agency will take better care of my princess, eh?" 

Laughing at himself, he got to work changing the oil filter and the sludge inside the engine. Losing himself in the task, he never realized that he started to sing to himself, falling back to when it was just him and his Dad. Burt used to love when Kurt would sing as he worked on the cars.

"Cold as ice,   
and more bitter than a December  
winter night,   
that's how I treated you.   
And I know that I  
I sometimes tend to lose my temper,  
And I cross the line.  
Yeah, that's the truth.  
I know it gets hard sometimes,  
But I could never  
Leave your side,  
No matter what I say."

Of course, as fate would have it, while Kurt was absorbed in his tasks, the front door, which Kurt had forgotten to lock behind him, was pulled open by none other than our favorite guitarist, Tommy Joe. The two men stepped into the garage and stopped, blinking in surprise at the song coming from everywhere and no where at the same time.

"'Cuz if I wanted to go  
I woulda gone by now.  
But I really need you near me,  
To keep my mind off the edge.  
If I wanted to leave,  
I woulda left by now,  
But you're the only one that knows me  
Better than I know my se-ee-eee-elf."

Kurt, thinking he was by himself, had let go like never before, not since the days in Glee club when he was competing against Rachel. He let his voice lift to his highest range, comfortable with his own company. If he hadn't been under the bay at the time, he might have seen the looks of awe and wonder on the two handsome faces. Adam wandered closer to where he heard the voice coming from, finding himself heading toward his new car. Was it possible that his new crush/obsession was just as talented with singing as he seemed to be with dancing and mechanics? He paused as he listened to the other counter tenor sing in a higher key than even he ever managed to get in the song.

"All along,  
I tried to pretend it didn't matter  
If I was alone.  
But deep down I know,  
If you were gone  
For even a day I wouldn't know which way to turn,  
'Cuz I'm lost without you.  
I know it gets hard sometimes,  
But I could never  
Leave your side,  
No matter what I say."

Adam frowned slightly as he heard the voice below them get choked up on the last verse. He wondered what kind of trials and tribulations had pushed this young beauty to the edge like this. He turned to Tommy and smiled, before turning back and joining Kurt for the chorus of one of his favorite songs.

"'Cuz if I wanted to go  
I woulda gone by now.  
But I really need you near me,  
To keep my mind off the edge.  
If I wanted to leave,  
I woulda left by now,  
But you're the only one that knows me  
Better than I know my se-ee-eee-elf."

"AH shit!" rang out across the garage as Kurt banged his head on the undercarriage before he poked his head up from the bay, staring up at Adam and Tommy with a shocked look. "Er... Hello?" His pale cheeks were flushed with an embarrassed blush, as well as streaked with grease. "How long were you standing there?"

Adam walked a little closer to the bay and crouched down next to where Kurt was standing, the trench coat pooling on the ground around him. He smiled softly, his blue eyes locked on the glasz ones below him. "Long enough to know you can sing like an angel, love." Tommy Joe could be seen in the background, nodding mutely.

Kurt looked away from the tempting duo, turning back to the Aston. "What are you two even doing here? We don't open for another hour or so. Besides, the prin-er, the car won't be ready for a while." He threw a glare at Tommy when he heard a muffled snicker. "Shut up!" His cheeks grew even redder. "Yeah, ok, I call her Princess in my head, ok? She's like freaking royalty!" Tommy still doesn't say anything, just threw his hands up in mock surrender. 

Adam chuckled slightly and stood. "Well, the truth was, I wanted to see how much work was going to have to be put into her. Unfortunately, Tommy and I are due to leave for an engagement in a day or two, and I needed to see about making arrangement for the.. Princess." He smirked down at Kurt, making the younger man's breath catch, before the words sunk in. 

For some reason, the thought of the two men, and the car, he quickly added, would soon be out of his life once more made his chest ache like it hadn't in a long time. "Oh, um.. Well, normally, I'd like to have at least a week to make sure all the debris is gone from the engine before I let it back on the road, especially an expensive machine like the Princess here, but I'm sure that the agency you rented her from will have someone who knows how to care for her," he said as professionally as he could, before adding under his breathe, "I hope."

Adam threw a smug look at Tommy, who just rolled his eyes at the singer and smirked back. "Well, see, that's why I need to make arrangements. You see, I realized yesterday while Tommy and I were driving her, that I quite liked Princess, so I bought her title from the agency. She's mine now, and I want to make sure she has the best of care. So, do you think you're up to it, pet? Could you take care of her for me?" His blue eyes caught Kurt's, holding them prisoner. Kurt felt his heart stop, before starting to pound faster. "M-me? Why me? You could have hired anyone you wanted?"

Adam stepped closer to the bay and kneeled down , reaching in to run his fingers across a stripe of grease covering the smooth cheek. "Why? Because I find myself inexplicably drawn to you. Everything I learn draws me closer. The fact that you can treat her like the royalty she is, the fact that I've never seen someone with as much passion as you, be it music, dancing, or cars. You just.. call to me, Kurt. Please? Will you please take my offer?"

Kurt's eyes are still caught by Adam's, even as he leans slightly into the hand at his cheek. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, the front door was yanked open, and Lenny and the other mechanics entered the shop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song is, of course, Adam Lambert's Better Than I Know Myself from Trespassing. This story has pretty much taken over itself. O.o I just hope I can hold on as I get dragged along.

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism is appreciated. It's been a while since I've written anything. This is just a small snippet, and I hope to add to it soon. Thanks, again!


End file.
